Tuesday, June 22, 2010

A couple of weeks ago, my mom told me she was going on vacation and I kindly volunteered to house sit for her in Houston. My initial plan was to take advantage of her spacious air-conditioned kitchen that not only has counters but also a dishwasher and an in-sink disposal. (These are all luxuries not found in my NYC apartment.) Not to mention she’s within driving distance of my two favorite grocery stores: Central Market and Fiesta. Cooking at my mom’s place in Houston was going to be a dream vacation!

Everything was perfect until I tried to start cooking. I’m so used to my tiny kitchen— which is small but has everything I need within reach—that I just couldn’t function properly in my mom’s palatial space. So I decided to not cook at all for a week and instead eat as many different things as I could while I was in Houston.

I admit, eating my way through Texas is not bad work—even when you’re consuming up to eight meals a day. Of course, this was research for my book so I can’t tell you everything that I ate as I want there to be some surprises when the book comes out next fall. But do know that there was a lot of this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

Towards the end of my stay, I had grown tired of restaurants and was itching to cook again or at least eat a home-cooked meal. So it was a joy when I received a message from Robb Walsh inviting me to his house for lunch and some World Cup watching.

If you ever receive an invitation for a meal from a cookbook writer you’d be a fool not to accept, especially if you like to eat. Why? Because their job is cooking and testing recipes and you’re guaranteed a bounty of food. Take my visit to Robb’s. When I arrived, on his counter was a tall stack of various wrapped meats from the store; I assumed it was his family’s groceries for the week that just hadn’t been put away. Yet as Robb and I talked about the state of Tex-Mex cuisine among other culinary topics, I watched him work his way through that stack of meat, coming up with all sorts of concoctions that would later go on the grill.

Speaking of the grill, you know that he has a new cookbook, right? It’s called The Tex-Mex Grill and Backyard Barbacoa Cookbook. Like all of his books, it’s a collection of Texas food history, anecdotes and recipes—so you can learn a little something while you cook. This time he focuses on outdoor cooking and since I don’t have a grill, I didn’t think that I’d be able to cook from his book. But his stuffed pepper recipe, along with many others, could easily be adapted for the oven.

He made these stuffed green peppers for me, serving them as a side dish to numerous other slabs of meat, though they’re certainly hearty enough to be a main dish as well. And if you took the filling and stuffed it into smaller jalapeño chiles, I bet they would make a fine starter.

Mix the seasoning blend, salt, and wine in a small bowl and stir well. Then combine the mixture with all the other ingredients except the oil and peppers in a mixing bowl and mash with your hands until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Put the meat in the refrigerator for an hour or more to allow the flavors to blend.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and place a teaspoon of the meat mixture in the hot oil. Cook, turning frequently, until done on both sides. Taste, and adjust the salt and seasonings in the remaining meat mixture.

Cut the peppers in half through the stem so that they form six half-pepper cups. Fill each half pepper with meat mixture. Mound the meat no more than a 1⁄2 inch over the top edge of each pepper. The stuffed peppers can be made in advance to this point and stored covered in the refrigerator for several days.

To cook on the grill, first light the grill. Cook pepper side down over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until the pepper is charred and soft. Turn the stuffed peppers over and cook on the meat side for 10 minutes. Test for doneness.

To cook in the oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the peppers pepper side down in a lightly oiled baking dish. Cook peppers uncovered for 45 minutes. Test for doneness.

47 comments:

Is Central Market still laid out like an Ikea, so that you have to wander through the whole store? I shopped there once when I lived in Houston, and never went back. Fiesta, on the other hand... That's a store that I miss terribly.

By chance is that a sausage sandwich from Goode Co? I'm a native Houstonian now living in DC and for my 10 year high school reunion in Sept, I fully intend to eat my way through Houston over the four days I'm in town. And I will be bringing back as many goodies as possible. . . Mmmmm. . .

I bet those stuffed peppers are great, but what I really want are all of the foods found in your pictures. Since it is a hot afternoon, I think I will start with a bowl of Blue Bell peaches and cream . . . or maybe a margarita with some chips and salsa?

I actually helped open that Central Market-worked in the bakery, loved the smell of bread and cheeses wafting over from the cheese case. I LOVE CM and missed it terribly when I moved. Now I'm back in TX and living in Austin...and am gastronomically happy!

BBQ Dude--Ha! Never thought of it that way, but yes--Central Market still has an IKEA-esque layout. I reckon you either like it or don't.

Tessa--Nope, it's from a roadside stand somewhere in Montgomery County.

DessertForTwo--The catfish sandwich is from a place outside Conroe called Kuntry Katfish.

Celeste--Now that's too long! And the mix of peppers will be pretty!

Bee--Always start with a margarita and chips and salsa!

Melissa--I miss it terribly, too. Always a first stop whenever I'm in a town that has one.

Kira--It was a pretty swell trip!

Kalyn--The peppers get all the good blackened stuff happening. So tasty!

Monday--Yep, the sausage was smoked!

Class Factotum--I also remember when both weren't chains. When I was very young, we used to eat at the original Chile's on Lower Greenville. The food was much, much better then. Have a great trip back to Houston!

Heather--That's exactly how I looked at all that eating--I was doing research!

Central market is like Ikea but when you learn the shortcuts it's easy to get around (and avoid the dawdlers). Met Rob Walsh at the St. Arnold's book signing. Seemed like a great guy. Bought two of his books.

Just made it back to Houston from NC...first stop, Ninfa's on Navigation...got my green sauce fix, along with Fajitas and those hot little carrots! Looked for you there! BBQ definitely on the horizon. Hope you had a great visit "back home".

We moved from Houston a year ago. Miss going to Hacienda San Angel for Tex-Mex and Hickory Hollow for BBQ and Chicken Fried Steak. There are so many more wonderful places, but those are just a few. Yes, you can get good eats in the south. But there's not place like home "Tejas" and nothing compares to the homeland.

This will make my husband's day, Lisa. Thank you. How delightful that I've only known your blog for a handful of months now and I've made 2 out of 3 on the "You Might Also Like" snippet below this post!

I always say that cooking in someone else's kitchen (even my mother's! Especially my mother's!!) is like trying to walk with two different shoes. You can do it, but it just doesn't feel right. Any time spent looking for stuff means you fall out of your groove and the rhythm is off - and rhythm is important when cooking, I've found.

I'll bet these peppers would be great stuffed in poblanos rather than bells. I'll be trying them soon.

Every time I read your blog I feel a bit more like a Texan! When our peeps from MD come to visit we take them to the Blue Bell Factory and then to HEB. They love both! My mom always baked her stuffed peppers, but I love the idea of grilling them! Glad you had fun in Houston!

Firstly, I love the fact that other people are excited about visiting particular grocery stores on their vacations. I love touring the local grocery stores wherever we go. My Australian husband LOVES Central Market or any HEB really. The selection is amazing and he likes to sample. There are rarely samples in Australia. =( Secondly, I'm also glad that other people eat their way through their Texas vacations because I live for the six weeks each year when I get the chance to do exactly that. I hope you get back to Texas again soon!

Wow! I just moved to Montgomery County and we have been to Kuntry Katfish twice. You do make the food look good! I ordered that cookbook. I wonder how many were sold just from your posting! I'm so glad I found your blog last week! I hope you share more about the Montgomery area. Or stop by and we'll take you out next time! :) I can use all the help I can get in understanding this new land. haha!

I adore your blog!! I too am a Texan living in New York and your recipes give me both hunger and heart pangs. When I visited my mom in Houston last month, she took me to an unbelievable place called the Breakfast Klub where I had waffles and wings and catfish and grits. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend. Also, I have a grill in my backyard in Astoria that you can test recipes on any ol' time!!

As far as the breakfast sausage this recipe calls for, I've made some stuffed peppers before with a mix of Chorizo and beef and people loved it! Not too greasy like straight Chorizo can be, but is enough to add it's delicious flavor! I am a native Texan and currently live in San Antonio. I LOVE your blog and love hearing how much people miss/enjoy Texan food :)